Man from Homicide 51-08-20 009 Wee Willie Baines Case

Summary

Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Man from Homicide 51-08-20 009 Wee Willie Baines Case

Date: August 31, 2025
Host: Harolds Old Time Radio
Featured Show: "Man from Homicide" (original airdate: August 20, 1951)
Starring: Dan Duryea as Lt. Lou Dana

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Episode Overview

This episode revives the noir detective drama Man from Homicide, showcasing the gritty pursuit of justice by Lt. Lou Dana as he investigates the murder of minor criminal Wee Willie Baines. The story escalates quickly, pulling in political intrigue, nightclub performers, and hired killers, all unraveling in a classic film-noir radio style. The episode immerses listeners in the dangerous, shadowy world of postwar crime, where beauty, loyalty, and violence intersect.

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Cold Open — Defining Homicide and Tone Setting

• Lt. Lou Dana's hardboiled perspective on murder:
  • "According to Lt. Lou Dana, it's the beginning of a dirty, dangerous job that doesn't end until a killer is found." (01:28)
  • "The dead are lonely people." (02:13)
• Sets a tense and cynical tone with evocative narration about death, the morgue, and his own dislike for killers.

2. Discovery of the Crime

• Wee Willie Baines found murdered in a park, shot in the back of the head with a .45.
  • "Somebody wanted to make very sure." (03:04)
• The victim had a criminal background and was recently subpoenaed by the Crime Investigating Committee, connecting him to larger forces.
• Dana and his partner Dave discuss Baines' history and political connections, establishing early suspicion toward someone in high places.

3. First Lead — The Schuyler Home

• Dana and Dave visit the affluent Schuyler residence, suspecting a political connection.
  • Claire Mason, a poised and beautiful woman, answers the door, displaying a mix of resistance and concern.
• They discover Mr. Schuyler dead as well, killed in a similar manner, just as a gunman escapes.
  • "He can be waked." (Lt. Dana on disturbing Schuyler, 04:45)
  • "Wee Willie wasn't pleased either." (06:06)

4. Traces & Forensics

• Dana and Dave collect evidence at the scene, including a scrap of expensive tweed torn from the escaping gunman’s pants.
  • "Half an inch by half an inch, maybe. Jagged edges." (08:44)
• Swift police work traces the fabric to a Detroit gang associate named Stan Cochran.

5. Tracking the Suspects

• Dana tracks Cochran to a seedy hotel and tails him to the "Orange Turban" nightclub, a setting evocative of the era's underworld.
• The club owner, Welsh, and pianist, Claire Mason, become key figures in Dana’s investigation.

6. Interrogations & Alibis at the Nightclub

• Dana confronts Claire Mason at the club, challenging her about her involvement. She feigns ignorance, denying ever meeting him before.
  • "We, you and I have never met before. I wouldn't have forgotten if we had." (Claire Mason, 16:33)
• Welsh attempts to provide both Claire and himself with alibis.
  • "Ms. Mason, you're buying one alibi from Welsh. Know what he's getting in return? Two alibis." (Lt. Lou Dana, 20:09)
• Dana accuses them of orchestrating a cover-up and points out inconsistencies.

7. Breakdown & Confession

• Under emotional pressure and explicit confrontation by Dana, Claire cracks, admitting her involvement at the Schuyler house as the lights suddenly go out and chaos ensues—a gunman fires.
  • "You know that. You saw me." (Claire Mason, 22:38)
• Claire is shot by the hitman, Stan Cochran, during the chaos.

8. The Dying Declaration

• As Claire lies mortally wounded, Dana hastily gathers her dying confession to ensure its legal admissibility, capturing a final moment of tragic humanity.
  • "Then I'll make a very good witness, won't I?" (Claire Mason, 24:28)
• Their brief, poignant exchange cements the sense of loss and fatalism central to noir stories.
  • "You and I, we know, don't we, that really I was part of the..." (Claire Mason, 25:57)

9. Climactic Showdown & Justice Served

• Dana confronts Welsh and Cochran in the alley, outmaneuvering them in a violent standoff.
  • "I'm kicking them over. And when they go down, we'll each have a shot apiece. Fair enough, gunboy. Fair enough, killer." (Lt. Lou Dana, 28:18)
• Cochran, broken, surrenders, and Dana refuses to shoot a defeated man, underscoring his complex morality.

10. Resolution & Reflection

• Dana returns to headquarters, submits his pen-and-ink report with Claire's dying declaration as key evidence. He closes on a somber note, wrestling with the costs of justice.
  • "And Claire Mason, with the lights in her eyes and the warm lips, was dead and would be forever dead with all her beauty. I. I don't like killers." (29:36)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Death and Duty:

  • "The dead are lonely people. They don't eat, drink, chase blondes or hit the night spots. Nobody keeps them company. Their quarters are on the crude side, and when they've died violently, they don't look good." (Lt. Lou Dana, 02:13)

• On Justice & Investigation:

  • "I'd say Baines was gonna sing and somebody objected to his solo and killed him." (Lt. Lou Dana, 08:53)

• On Corruption and Loyalty:

  • "Ms. Mason, you're buying one alibi from Welsh. Know what he's getting in return? Two alibis." (Lt. Lou Dana, 20:09)
  • "Skyler, who loved you with two bullets in his head. Willie Baines dead in Potter's field." (Lt. Lou Dana, 22:22)

• Dying Declaration Sequence:

  • "Then I'll make a very good witness, won't I?" (Claire Mason, 24:28)
  • "She thanked me. And she died. It wasn't fair. Dead, she looked even more beautiful." (Lt. Lou Dana, 26:17)

• Final Reflection:

  • “And Claire Mason... was dead and would be forever dead with all her beauty. I. I don't like killers.” (Lt. Lou Dana, 29:36)

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Timestamps of Major Segments

• [01:28] - Lt. Lou Dana’s introduction to homicide
• [03:00] - Discovery of Wee Willie Baines' murder
• [05:26] - Arrival at the Schuyler residence
• [06:20] - Finding Schuyler dead, gunman escapes
• [09:39] - Cloth evidence traced to Stan Cochran
• [11:35] - At the Slocum Arms Hotel, encounter with Cochran
• [15:29] - At the Orange Turban nightclub
• [16:12] - First confrontation between Dana and Claire Mason
• [19:15] - Interrogation of Welsh and challenging the alibis
• [22:38] - Claire begins to confess, chaos erupts
• [23:44] - Claire’s dying declaration
• [26:59] - Final showdown in the alley
• [29:36] - Dana’s closing reflection

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Tone, Language, and Style

Man from Homicide maintains the tough, clipped vernacular of classic noir, mixing cynicism, gallows humor, and moments of tenderness—particularly noticeable during Claire Mason’s confession. The dialogue is sharp, evocative, and filled with period slang and hard-boiled similes.

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Conclusion

This tightly woven radio mystery exemplifies classic noir. Through Lt. Lou Dana’s dogged hunt for Baines’s killer, the story exposes a corrupt web connecting low-level crooks, power brokers, and tragic bystanders like Claire Mason. Brisk pacing, shadowy atmosphere, and Dana’s persistent voiceover carry the listener through murder, betrayal, and bittersweet justice, ending with a somber reminder of homicide’s cost to victim, culprit, and cop alike.

Transcript

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[Narrator/Announcer]

Stay tuned for the man from Homicide. Henry J. Taylor, author, journalist and ABC commentator whose commentaries on world events are heard each Monday evening on abc, is on a fact finding tour of European countries. Periodically, Mr. Taylor takes trips abroad to examine activities at firsthand and to get his own reactions during the week season Europe. His Monday evening commentary, your Land and Mine will be broadcast each week from a different European capital. He'll speak tonight from Rome, Italy. So listen for Henry J. Taylor's penetrating analysis on your land and mine over your ABC station. The Man From Homicide According to Webster's Dictionary, homicide is the killing of one human being by another. According to Lt. Lou Dana, it's the.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Beginning of a dirty, dangerous job that doesn't end until a killer is found.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I don't like killers.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Every week at this time the American Broadcasting Company brings you transcribed the star of stage and screen, dan Duryea as Lt. Lou Dana, the man from Homicide.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

The dead are lonely people. They don't eat, drink, chase blondes or hit the night spots. Nobody keeps them company. Their quarters are on the crude side, and when they've died violently, they don't look good. When they check in with Homicide, they put in their time at the morgue. I wonder if the cold marble of the Slabs ever bothers them. A sergeant standing next to me had surrounded himself with 300 pounds of fat, but even that couldn't keep the cold out.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Lieutenant Have a stick of gum, Dave?

[Dave (partner)]

No thanks.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I don't like his looks.

[Dave (partner)]

We Willie, he ain't exactly in the.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Best of shape.45 slug?

[Dave (partner)]

Yep, in the back of the head.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Somebody wanted to make very sure when and where.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Dave?

[Dave (partner)]

Couple of kids stumbled across him in the park around 11 o' clock tonight.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Kids at 11?

[Dave (partner)]

18 year old kids, boy and a girl, looking for a quiet place. They found a quiet place. They also found Wee Willie.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

What's the medical examiner's guess as to time of death?

[Dave (partner)]

Around 7 tonight, give or take an hour.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Dinner time. But not for Willie.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I'd seen Wee Willie when we got out of the morgue. The room I kept my desk in was warmer, but the chill was still in my bones.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Dave.

[Dave (partner)]

Yeah, Lieutenant?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

What was Willie Baines.

[Dave (partner)]

Forty years ago he was a kid in the slums. Ten years later, juvenile delinquent. And since then, petty larceny boy, small bookie, errand boy for the smart ones. Yesterday the Crime Investigating Committee had him under subpoena.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

And tonight under the soda. Who was he working for?

[Dave (partner)]

We're not sure, Lou.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

What was the Crime Commission gonna ask him about the weather?

[Dave (partner)]

Captain Coveleski checked through on that. One of the men on the governor's staff stuck Willie Baines name on the list. Well, yeah, but he had gone home. We'll get hold of him in the morning.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Tonight. Lou. Yeah.

[Dave (partner)]

Man's name is Skyler. Old family and stuff.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'll make sure my fingernails are clean. Yeah. It's late.

[Dave (partner)]

He might be asleep.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

He can be waked.

[Dave (partner)]

He's political, Lou.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'll try not to hold that against him. Come on. I'll tell you a secret, Dave.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I've decided not to run for president. The Schuyler place avoided its neighbors by several acres of manicured lawn and a high fence. The house itself was made of gray stone. Well trained ivy framed the windows. The front door was so highly polished, you could see your face in it. I needed a shave.

[Claire Mason]

Yes.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

She didn't need anything. She had it all.

[Claire Mason]

What do you want, Mr. Schuyler? It's late.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

It is?

[Claire Mason]

Well.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

My credentials.

[Claire Mason]

Lieutenant Dana, Homicide.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Homicide.

[Claire Mason]

Come in. Mr. Schuyler is in his room. What did you want to see him about?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

It might be simpler if I discussed it with him.

[Claire Mason]

I suppose you know what you're doing.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

We'll leave it at that.

[Claire Mason]

But I can't understand what connection there is between.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Between homicide and professional connection.

[Claire Mason]

Mr. Schuyler won't be pleased at being disturbed.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Wee Willie wasn't pleased either.

[Claire Mason]

We Willie.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A man with a priority at the moment. Well, if it's important, why not let your husband decide?

[Claire Mason]

My.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Where's his room? Quick.

[Claire Mason]

Down the hall. Last door.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Thanks. I went down the hall, quick. The last door was standing open. Mr. Schuyler was wearing a silk dressing gown, leather bedroom slippers and what looked like a smile on his thin lips, but wasn't. And two bullet holes in the head. An open window gave a fair view of the manicured lawns and the fence at the far end. Somebody was climbing it. He was over before my bullets got there.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That fence is over a hundred yards away.

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

Sh.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Wait. Yeah?

[Dave (partner)]

Know what?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Hey, Skylar. I'd say so, dad. He's got a right with two bullet holes in his head. Dave, when you came in, did you. Shots.

[Dave (partner)]

Figured you might need me.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

And did you see a woman in evening dress? A woman?

[Dave (partner)]

No.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Come on.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Mr. Schuyler will excuse us.

[Dave (partner)]

Was there a woman here?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Yeah. She made light conversation with me. Maybe because she thought I was a good conversationalist. Maybe because she had to give a gunman time to shoot his gun off. I left her here.

[Dave (partner)]

Nobody around now.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

No. She must have ducked out when you came in.

[Dave (partner)]

Who was she?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I called her. Mrs. Schuyler. It looks like I was wrong. Get on the phone. Notify the department.

[Dave (partner)]

Dave, what'll I tell them?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Tell him Wee Willie's getting company.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

The technical men showed up and got the routine underway. They found out that the Corps. And they found out that the corpse was dead. And that was all. Dave and I went through the dead man's files and found nothing out on the lawn. The noise and the smell of gunpowder faded.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

He went over the fence right about here. Maybe he dropped his calling card.

[Dave (partner)]

There's not a thing around, Lou.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I better take a look at the fence itself. Shoot your light up here.

[Dave (partner)]

Okay, lieutenant.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Now, hold it now.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Yeah. There's rough stone on top.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

He must have hit it hard going.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Over with my bullet singing behind him. Yeah.

[Dave (partner)]

You got something, Lou?

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Something? Yeah.

[Dave (partner)]

Hunk of cloth.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Half an inch by half an inch, maybe. Jagged edges.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Could have been torn off his pants leg.

[Dave (partner)]

Yeah, Hardly enough to identify Lou.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That's for the lab to worry about, Dave. We're dead. I'd say Baines was gonna sing and somebody objected to his solo and killed him. When Skylar had picked Baines for investigation, he had something on his mind.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Where's Skylar's mind?

[Dave (partner)]

Now, now, son, you're being rhetorical.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

The girl, what's the description worth? She had nothing that'd make her different.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

From half a million other girls.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Except beauty. And that doesn't fit into her police report.

[Dave (partner)]

None of it's any good, Lou.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I know, Pappy. So let's feed this cloth to the lab.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Half an inch by half an inch. I wonder if there's enough to make a hangman's rope out of it.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

The lab was good.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

They had the cloth pattern tabbed in an hour. It was a tweed, an expensive tweed. Sketches were made up and every local mill questioned. It took them four hours to hit the mill that had woven the clothes cloth. 20 minutes for a list of tailors they'd ship bolts to in the city. By that time it was the next day and 12 cops pounded pavement. Visiting tailors. Maybe I slept while in the chair behind my desk. I must have slept because I saw the girl's face and heard her voice again. It was quite a voice.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Hey, Lieutenant. Yeah, Pappy?

[Dave (partner)]

You ever try sleeping?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Sure. Didn't care for it much, though. You got something?

[Dave (partner)]

Eh, it's a maybe on one of the lists. Boy by the name of Stan Cochran bought a suit made out of that cloth two months ago.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Keep going.

[Dave (partner)]

Well, he's a Detroit boy. Had a little something to do with the Collier gang out there.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

The question is, what's he doing in this town? Have you got an address?

[Dave (partner)]

Yeah, Slocum Arms, over in Van Dyke.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That's nice. Dave, go find a bed and lie down.

[Dave (partner)]

Now, you've been gone just as long as I have.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Sure, Pappy, but I don't have so much to carry around. You're dead on your feet. I'll let you know if Mr. Cochran.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Ripped any suits recently. Once upon a time, Van Dyck had been a nice street where people got married, had kids and died in bed. That was a long time ago now. Drunks and dirt blind pigs, houses and the Slocum Arms. A decaying palm and a cracked tub. Cigar butts on the floor and a quick turnover.

[Mr. Welsh]

Yeah?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Stan Cochran.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Stack.

[Mr. Welsh]

Who's that?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Let's see your register.

[Mr. Welsh]

Give me a reason.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'm crazy about hotel registers.

[Mr. Welsh]

I don't like that reason.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

How about this?

[Mr. Welsh]

I don't like cops either.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You and me both. The register.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Okay, thanks. That's funny.

[Mr. Welsh]

What is?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

All your customers got the same handwriting.

[Mr. Welsh]

Oh, I can explain that.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Go ahead.

[Mr. Welsh]

They can't write.

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

Let me go.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Stan Cochran.

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

Look, I'm telling you, the name ain't familiar. Get your hands.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'll wash him when I get home. Maybe he didn't feed you the right name. He's 28 years old, 5ft 7 inches high, weighs around 160. Brown hair, gray eyes. Dresses a lot better than this dump would call for. Who is he?

[Mr. Welsh]

Oh, I don't recognize.

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

What's the idea?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Keep your hands away from that drawer. There might be a gun in it. Who is he?

[Mr. Welsh]

Well, I. Oh, shut up.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Bend over towards me. We're holding a confidential chat. Like that. He's on his way out. What name did he use here?

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

I don't know.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

You gave it away. What name?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Steve Carter.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Yeah. No imagination. Same initials.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Gargle. When you get home, your throat will feel better. Goodbye.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Mr. Cochrane was wearing a tan gabardine. I admired it. Walking up Van Dyke half a block and Mr. Cochran decided his gabardine was worthy of better places than Van Dyke. He hired a cab. I made my car and Mr. Cochran and I went for a drive. I parked. Mr. Cochran paid his cab off and it left. I got out of the car and Mr. Cochran walked past the entrance to the Orange Turban. I ignored it, too. Mr. Cochran picked out the first alley beyond the nightclub and went down it. I gave him time and sampled the alley myself. A thin trickle of moonlight picked out garbage cans, empty milk bottles and Mr. Cochran knocking on a door at the end of the alley. The door was solid and bolted. I decided I'd use the front entrance to the Orange Turban. It was the kind of a place that had a cover charge. I wondered how Captain Kovaleski would feel about a cover charge. Then I had thoughts about Mr. Schuyler and I didn't bother wondering. The head waiter had his doubts, but the place was open to the public. The table he gave me commanded a very good view of the wallpaper and the entrance to the Gents Lounge. The girl playing the piano was like half a million other girls except she happened to be beautiful. The last time I'd seen her, we were in a gray stone house and a man was about to die. This time.

[Mr. Welsh]

Good evening, Lieutenant Dana.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

If you say so.

[Mr. Welsh]

I'm Welsh. I own the turban. Hope you like it.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'm crazy about the wallpaper.

[Mr. Welsh]

The head waiter didn't recognize you and I'd be like another table.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Ah, this one will do, Lieutenant.

[Mr. Welsh]

I hope you're not here on business.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I wouldn't know. Who's the piano player?

[Mr. Welsh]

Oh, Claire Mason. Beautiful, isn't she?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

And she even plays the piano. I'd like to meet her.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I'll ask her.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You pay her salary. Tell her.

[Mr. Welsh]

Very well, Lieutenant.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Hello.

[Claire Mason]

Mr. Welsh asked me to come.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Sit down, Miss Mason.

[Claire Mason]

Thank you.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

It's even later.

[Claire Mason]

I beg your pardon?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Than last night.

[Claire Mason]

I'm not sure I know.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Last night was the night we met at Mr. Schuyler's.

[Claire Mason]

At Mr. Schuyler's. Who is Mr. Schuyler, Lieutenant Dana.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Oh, like that, huh?

[Claire Mason]

We, you and I have never met before. I wouldn't have forgotten if we had.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

You're very beautiful.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

And how did you spend last night between the hours of 11 to 1? Say, why, I don't bother. You were here all the time. How many dead men have you ever seen?

[Claire Mason]

I don't think I've seen any.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That's a shame. Everybody should see at least a few. Why, then maybe more people than Homicide would hate killers. Welch got an office in the club?

[Claire Mason]

In the back of the building.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Now let's go visit him.

[Claire Mason]

I don't particularly want to.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Your lawyer wouldn't be happy with your unwillingness.

[Claire Mason]

My. I don't have a lawyer.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You will by the time you get to trial. I said let's go.

[Claire Mason]

I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but all right.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I just want Welch to tell me that you were here all last night, too.

[Claire Mason]

It's through here. He'll tell you I was here.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I know he will. But once he tells me, you see, I'll have a couple of accessories. You and Welsh.

[Claire Mason]

Accessories to murder.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That's what it always is, isn't it?

[Claire Mason]

Would you mind?

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Oh, I keep forgetting we first met in very high society. Sure.

[Claire Mason]

Lieutenant Dana.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Yeah.

[Claire Mason]

Since Welsh will corroborate my story, what's there for you?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Exercise. Look, Ms. Mason, if this were a book, it might turn out that you have a wicked twin sister. Or maybe somebody hypnotized you and the game you played at the Schuyler house wasn't your fault at all. But this isn't a book. We both know where you were last night. And one of us knows exactly why. The other has a very good idea. Walsh is on the other side of that door.

[Claire Mason]

Yes.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

You're looking at me as if I.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Were a can of somebody's ideal dog food.

[Claire Mason]

Am I?

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Yes.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You're wrong.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I'm nobody's ideal, not even a dog's.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You sticking to your story?

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

It.

[Claire Mason]

It's not a story. It's the truth.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I've got just enough brains, Miss Mason, to know you're lying.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I'm just enough of a fool to wish you weren't.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Forget it. We go back to the script now. Keeps his door locked.

[Mr. Welsh]

Yeah.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Go on, Miss Mason.

[Claire Mason]

It's Claire, Mr. Welsh and the Lieutenant.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Oh, cute.

[Claire Mason]

What do you mean?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Never mind.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

You know the answer to that one, too.

[Mr. Welsh]

Come in, come in. Just doing a little bookkeeping. Make yourselves comfortable.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Thanks. Welch. Where was Ms. Mason at 11 o' clock last night?

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Claire?

[Mr. Welsh]

Why, here at the club, of course.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

And how do you know?

[Mr. Welsh]

Well, because I was here myself.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

How about seven o'?

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Clock?

[Mr. Welsh]

Seven?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That one. You need a minute for? Take it.

[Mr. Welsh]

I don't know what you mean. At 7, Tara and I were dining together.

[Claire Mason]

But she told we were dining together.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Oh, neat. Very neat. What restaurant?

[Mr. Welsh]

No restaurant, Lieutenant. Claire happens to be a very fine cook and she was kind enough to invite me to dinner at her apartment.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Then she's got more Talents than one. Why, you piano playing lieutenant if you're.

[Mr. Welsh]

Going to be nasty?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

What else can I be? Look at the company I keep. Ms. Mason, you're buying one alibi from Welsh. Know what he's getting in return? Two alibis.

[Claire Mason]

Two?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You know about Schuyler. You were there.

[Claire Mason]

I've already told you I wasn't.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Save it. Welch offered to pull you out of that one by saying you were here to be my word against the pair of you. You took his offer. In return for that, you've given him an alibi for seven o' clock last night.

[Claire Mason]

We were together. What happened at 7 o' clock last night?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A little man named Willie Baines had part of his head shot off with a.45. Oh, that one you didn't have down in your little book, huh?

[Claire Mason]

I didn't know.

[Mr. Welsh]

Claire, the man's trying to trap you.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Shut up.

[Mr. Welsh]

I've got my right.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

How about Willie Baines rights? How about Skyler's right?

[Mr. Welsh]

I had nothing to do with them. Remember, Dana, you're not a jury.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I remember that all the time. That's why I don't kill you.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

All right, Ms. Mason.

[Claire Mason]

I have nothing to say.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You've got lots to say. It went like this. Skyler was down here, saw you, decided your eyes held all the stars and your lips were what a man dreams of. He also happens to be on the crime commission. He got hold of Willie Baines and Baines decided to talk about who.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

You know the answer to that one.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Otherwise you wouldn't have recognized Willie Baines's name when I threw it at you.

[Claire Mason]

I still have nothing.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Let me. Baines was gonna tie Welch in with the racket. Skyler told you you worked for Welch. You told him. Mistaken loyalty or a cut in the profits.

[Claire Mason]

I work here. That's all.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Thanks. It makes it a little cleaner.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You told Welch, and Welch started moving. He hired a gunman from Detroit. First Willie Baines went at 7:00', clock and then Skyler at 11. You were with Skyler at his house in evening dress.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Or maybe you didn't know the program for the evening.

[Claire Mason]

I didn't, Claire.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That was for obstructing justice. Welch.

[Claire Mason]

I'm confused.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Say the phony alibis work. Where does that leave you the minute Welch stops worrying about you?

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

Oh, I don't care.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Where does that leave you? Two dead men on your doorstep, morning, noon and night, waking and sleeping. Skyler, who loved you with two bullets in his head. Willie Banes dead in Potter's field.

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

Stop. Please. Stop it.

[Claire Mason]

All right, Lieutenant.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Claire.

[Claire Mason]

I was at Skyler's. You know that. You saw me. It's seven.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

The lights.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Claire. Get down. Don't move. The boy from Detroit was around.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Claire.

[Claire Mason]

I don't feel good.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Let me look at. Yeah.

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

Don't. Don't leave me.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I'm not. It wasn't Welsh. I had my eyes on him. It was a Detroit gunboy.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Emergency. Lieutenant Dana. An ambulance, quick. The Irons Turbine Club, back room. Take care of that and then send a patrol car over.

[Claire Mason]

I. Lieutenant, I don't feel.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

There'll be a doctor here pretty quick.

[Claire Mason]

What chance? You don't have to answer that one. I. I know.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

This isn't going to be easy, Ms. Mason. I'm a cop from Homicide. I got a duty to perform.

[Claire Mason]

What are you so worried about?

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I don't like it. There's a gimmick in the law. It says testimony by a witness not alive at the time of trial isn't admissible unless the witness made the statement and signed it at a time when the witness knew he was dying.

[Claire Mason]

Then I'll make a very good witness, won't I?

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I'll write the dying declaration out. I. Name Claire Mason. Where do you live?

[Claire Mason]

The Ardmore Hotel.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Do you now believe you're.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

You're about to die?

[Claire Mason]

Yes.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Have you no hope of recovery from the effects of the injury you've received?

[Claire Mason]

Isn't there any.

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

Any.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

No.

[Claire Mason]

I have no hope.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I'll write the statement. You'll have to try to read it.

[Claire Mason]

All right. Says what you said before.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Yes.

[Claire Mason]

Give me the pen. That'll make up for it. Skyler and Willie.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

It'll make up.

[Claire Mason]

I think maybe now. Maybe now, Lieutenant.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Yeah.

[Claire Mason]

The way you figured it out, I wasn't so bad, was I?

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

You weren't so bad, Lieutenant.

[Claire Mason]

You and I, we know, don't we, that really I was part of the.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

I don't know a thing except what's on this statement.

[Claire Mason]

Thanks, Tannen. Thank.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

She thanked me. And she died. It wasn't fair. Dead, she looked even more beautiful. I got out before the ambulance in the squad car. I got out of the room and down the hallway and to the door that opened out on the alley. I was late, but not too late. Welch and the gunboy Cochrane would be waiting. They had to wait. Alive, I was their executioner. Dead, they'd be safe. I killed the hallway light, slid the bolt open, kicked the door wide and.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Headed for the dirt on the alley pavement. I picked number one by the flares of his gun.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

Welch. He hadn't expected Me to come through the door that low. The gunboy had been smarter. He pulled in behind the stack of barrels he'd used as covered. We were gonna have fun.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Cochran. Welch is out. It's just you and me now. Come out. No. Then I'll come after you. You got the girl a neat job, Cochran. Real. Not a word, Cochran. I'm coming after you. Not like Willie Baines who tried to run. Not like Schuyler who didn't know was coming. Me, you've got to take from the front, Cochran. But to do that. You know what, Cochran? You'll have to come out yourself. Stand up to it and take a chance. How about it, gun boy? How about it, killer? All right. I'm on the other side of the barrels. I'm kicking them over. And when they go down, we'll each have a shot apiece. Fair enough, gunboy. Fair enough, killer.

[Stan Cochran / Gunboy]

No, no. I'm coming out. Here's my gun. Oh, shoot. Please. Out. Please don't. Don't shoot.

[Lt. Lou Dana (narration)]

He crawled out on the dirty floor of the alley and cried. I didn't shoot him. They die harder and more often in the death cell. The boys arrived and washed the thing up. I went back to headquarters. I wrote up my report with pen and ink on white paper. I attached Ms. Mason's dying declaration to my report and threw it in the outgoing basket. In due time, the district attorney would use it in a court of law and a murderer would die. Fair enough. And Claire Mason, with the lights in her eyes and the warm lips, was dead and would be forever dead with all her beauty. I. I don't like killers.

[Narrator/Announcer]

You have just heard Dan Duryea as the man from Homicide. With Larry Dobkin as Dave Ann diamond was Claire J. Novello Welch. Music was by Basil adl. A Man From Homicide is transcribed Written by Louvitties Directed by Dwight Hauser. Be with us again next week, same time, over most of these same ABC stations to hear Dan Duryea as the man from Homicide. Orville Anderson speaking. This program came to you from Hollywood. America is sold on abc. The American Broadcasting Company.